Wednesday, 6 January 2010

Cold Hands, Hot Pastry

The snow has been falling for weeks now, my car has disappeared under driven snow. Between snow showers, the world freezes, the sky becomes clear blue and your breath is like fog. Beautiful maybe but I can not escape the village to break out to the shops and we are living entirely on storecupboard concoctions.

My hands have not warmed up since I ran to the logpile for firewood this morning. My fingers are numb so I am carrying my own winter warmers with me when I go out to play. Wrapped up in foil, hot and crispy with a delicate chilli hit, I'm hoping they will take the sting out of the cold and make it easier to hang out sledging and igloo making in the garden without needing to come indoors and cuddle a radiator every ten minutes.

Versions of these turn up in every bakers throughout Asia. Made with puff pastry or samosa pastry, they are breakfast fare in Malaysia and tiffin in India but I like them baked not fried, and although they can be filled with anything from spiced chicken to minced lamb and vegetable, I am having a post Christmas, vegetarian week so hot potato curry it is.

Curry Puffs

2 large baking potatoes

4 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 cm ginger, finely chopped

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander seed

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp hot chilli powder

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

100g frozen peas

2 balls of frozen spinach

Small bunch of fresh coriander

1 package filo pastry

2oz butter, melted

Peel the potatoes. Chop them into small dice and boil till just cooked then drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan and add the onion, garlic and ginger. Fry gently till soft and aromatic.

Add the cumin, coriander seed, garam masala, chilli, mustard seed, spinach, peas and potatoes and cook together on a low heat for 5 minutes until well mixed. Remove from heat and add a good handful of finely chopped coriander.

Cut the pastry into long strips, approx 6cm x 25cm. Place a teaspoon of the mixture at the top of a pastry strip and fold over to cover the potatoes and make a triangle. Keep folding the triangle over until you reach the end of the pastry sheet and your filling is well enclosed. Brush the filled triangle with melted butter.

This makes around 20 pastries which can be frozen uncooked and baked from frozen. Bake 180C for 8-10 minutes until golden brown (10-12 minutes if frozen).